


The Beauty of Communication

by saidno1ever



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: American Sign Language, Bullying, F/M, Light Angst, M/M, Multilingual, Muteness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-05
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-04-25 00:31:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4939804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saidno1ever/pseuds/saidno1ever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It all started with sign class.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Yoroshiku

Shizuo Heiwajima had a lingering sense of alienation as he walked beside his family down the sparsely populated hall. He wasn't sure why, it was just another school after all. Maybe it was the fact that he had never been to this school, or maybe having his entire family in the same place just felt strange. 

Shizuo snapped out of his slowly spiraling train of thought when his mom bumped his elbow with her shoulder. She was smiling like she knew something that her son did not. 

"It's this room, right?" She asked. 

"Well, it does say Sign Language classes on that paper." Shizuo's father pointed out, lightly. 

Once again his mother bumped his elbow, but this time she followed through by gently grasping his arms and steering Shizuo in the direction of the room. The sight was amusing, given their extreme height differences. 

"Are you going to make some friends, Kasuka?" Mr. Heiwajima asked in a lowered tone. 

Kasuka, who had been walking silently behind the rest of the family, said nothing, but shrugged mysteriously. 

Kasuka was the entire reason they had signed up for the sign language class in the first place. He had always been a quiet child, but lately his teachers had expressed heavy concern over how nonverbal he was. Mr. and Mrs. Heiwajima had taken him to the doctor just in case, but the doctor found nothing medically wrong. The visit had ended with the doctor suggesting to learn sign language, simply to make communication easier. 

 

The first thing Shizuo noticed when he walked into the room were the various literature posters hanging around the room. He had exactly two seconds to read one before a pale thin hand darted out in front of his face and snapped twice. 

 

Shizuo jerked backwards in surprise, eyes darting down an equally thin arm to a head and a face. It was an Asian boy with short spiked hair and a burning gaze. 

"What?" Shizuo asked, not at all politely. 

The boy rolled his eyes and held up a nametag and sharpie. Shizuo stared for a second before his mother eased up next to him. 

"Oh nametags!" She chirped, reaching for the items. 

Shizuo briefly looked away from the boy to watch in bemusement as his mother scribbled "Shizu-chan" on his nametag then stuck it on the front of his grey t-shirt. 

"Mom, really?" 

"It's adorable, Shizuo." Mrs. Heiwajima giggled, as began to write her own name. 

Shizuo could see the boy's mouth quirk into a smile out of the corner of his eye. He abruptly turned and stormed to the other side of the wide classroom. Belatedly, he noticed there was only one desk; the teacher's and stood next to the wall lamely. 

There were other people in the room, ten, Shizuo counted. They were mostly gathered in the back, talking excitedly to one another. Shizuo noticed that no one was signing. 

 

It was only five minutes later, that the class started. One of the women in the back turned out to the teacher. She walked to the center of the room, curly brown hair bouncing all the way. 

"Excuse me everyone! If you could all come up here and sit in a big circle." 

Shizuo followed his family, ending up sitting between his dad and Kasuka. He noticed that the Asian boy was still standing near the door, staring at something on his small whiteboard. 

"-Welcome to American Sign Language class," The teacher was saying. 

She suddenly stopped and turned to face the boy, "Izaya, would you like to join us?" 

The As- Izaya, smiled a little as he approached the circle, marker and whiteboard still in hand. 

"Alright. Hello everyone! I'm Lora," Lora raised one hand and began to sign as she spelled it out, "That's L-O-R-A. Lora." 

Shizuo raised an eyebrow. He knew how to sign the easy letters like A,O and I but that was about it. 

Lora gestured to Izaya, who had sat on the left side of her, "And this is my nephew Izaya." She signed his name just as she had done for her own. 

"Now how many of you took this class for fun?" 

About three-fourths of the circle raised their hands. Shizuo glanced at his parents to reaffirm that they had a different reason. 

Lora pointed toward a boy with medium length brown hair and a girl wearing what looked like a Batman motorcycle helmet. Shizuo blinked in confusion. 

"Why are you here?" 

"We, uh, well this is my girlfriend, Celty and she..." The boy glanced at Celty for help. Celty suddenly began typing on a phone that had been hidden on her lap. Shizuo scrunched his eyebrows together at how rude she was being until a second later, a robotic voice emitted from the phone, 

"I have a facial deformity that makes talking really hard. So we decided to learn sign language together." 

"Yeah." The boy agreed with a nervous smile. 

"Oh, that's great! I love when couples learn languages together. How long have you two been dating." 

"Eight months." The boy said at the same time the robotic voice said, "Too long." 

Laughter filtered around the circle, and the slightly anxious atmosphere was broken. Lora looked at the Heiwajima's next. 

"Are you guys a family?" 

"Yes," Mrs. Heiwajima spoke up, "We're here for our son, Kasuka." She reached an arm around her husband to place a loving hand on Kasuka's head, "Verbal communication is not really something he enjoys, so we decided to try sign language." 

Mr. Heiwajima nodded in silent agreement. 

"Oh, that's sweet. I know how nerve wrecking communication can be. Especially when it's verbal. Don't worry, Kasuka." Lora said with a kind smile. 

Kasuka lowered his eyes to the carpet. 

Lora glanced around the rest of the small circle, "And the rest of you are all here for fun?" 

A resounding yes. 

"Well that's great! We're going to have a lot of fun here. Right Izaya?" 

Izaya smirked in a way that Shizuo found irrationally irritating, then shrugged. 

"Aw, you know we always have fun. So the first activity we're going to do are introductions. You already know me, L-O-R-A. And Celty. How do you spell your name?" Lora asked, not spotting a nametag. Izaya must have been slacking off. 

"C-E-L-T-Y." Her boyfriend answered. 

"Oh, okay." Lora held up a hand and signed Celty's name slowly, "Now you try." 

Shizuo glanced at Izaya absently and was surprised to see the boy was staring at him. His expression held amusement and maybe a dash of mischief. Shizuo wondered what he was thinking about. 

"Shinra. S-H-R-I-N-A." Lora signed to Celty's boyfriend. 

Shizuo vaguely wondered if anyone in the class had an American name. 

Lora went around the circle slowly, listening to everyone's names, showing them how to sign their letters, then watching them repeat it back. Kasuka spelled his name back quickly with no problem, and Shizuo could see the half hidden sense of accomplishment that his brother was feeling. He found himself smiling a little. 

"Shizu...chan? Is that your name?" 

Shizuo jumped and met Lora's gaze with a startled expression, "What? Uh, no. She wrote that. My name's Shizuo." 

Lora giggled and it was a delightful little sound, "Shizu-chan is cuter though." 

"Told you." Mrs. Heiwajima whispered. 

"Ok. S-H-I-Z-U-C-H-A-N." 

Shizuo focused all his energy on not looking at Izaya's smile as laughter bubbled around the circle. It would seem he was fated to be known as Shizu-chan. He signed the letters with shame. 

There were five people after Shizuo and two of them had American names, while the other three had Danish names. Shizuo was sure he would forget all of this by the next class. 

"That actually took up a lot of time, wow. It's already seven. One last thing before we go." Lora raised her hands until both were palm down with one vertical and the other horizontal. The slid the horizontal hand down the vertical one. Next she made the letter D with both hands, fingers pointed up with hand facing her and the other away. She brought the D's together until her knuckles touched and smiled, "Nice to meet you." 

Everyone in the circle attempted their own version of the phrase, then said their vocal goodbyes and began to stand. 

Shizuo helped his mom off the floor, chuckling when she groaned something about being too old for this. 

"So Kasuka, how do you like it so far?" Mr. Heiwajima asked, already standing. 

Kasuka raised his hand then signed G-O-O-D.


	2. Mon Amis

"Shizu-chan, right?" The brown-haired boy asked after making eye contact with Shizuo. 

It had been a week since the last class and Kasuka had spent the days in between spell-signing anything and everything. The entire family was excited to have him "voicing" his thoughts instead of shrugging and mumbling incoherently to himself. Shizuo even found himself signing things to Kasuka, but not a lot, because he had forgotten half the letters' signs. 

"Actually my name is Shizuo." 

The brown haired boy seemed undeterred, still smiling in an overly friendly way, "But your nametag still says Shizu-chan." 

Shizuo glanced down at his shirt and the unfamiliar scrawl of marker on his nametag, "I didn't write that. What's-his-face did." 

"Who?" 

Shizuo gestured in the general direction of the door. 

"You mean Izaya?" 

"Probably." 

Shinra's smile was suddenly lined with amusement, "Izaya's funny. He wrote Batman on Celty's nametag." 

"Sounds like a prick." Shizuo grumbled, glancing at Shinra's nametag again. It said Shinra alright. 

"He didn't give you a dumb nickname?" 

"Nope! I guess I wasn't interesting enough for him." 

That was a strange way to put it. 

Shizuo glanced around and saw his mother talking to another woman while his father and brother hovered close by. It was easy to see what side of the family had the social skills. 

Shizuo was pulled back to Shinra as Celty walked up to them. She stopped close to Shinra and waved. Shizuo smiled a little and waved back, 

"Celty, right?" 

She nodded. 

"Wow, I'm surprised I remembered that." 

Celty pulled her phone out of the pocket of her Justice League hoodie and typed with amazing speed. Shizuo wondered if there had been a time where she had used other means of communication. Maybe she was just good with phones? 

"I can't remember names either. Haha." The robotic voice ended with an unenthusiastic laugh, that made all three of them laugh in their own quiet ways. 

"Hey guys" Lora chirped, appearing on the other side of Shinra, "Glad to see you back." 

"Hey." Shizuo nodded. 

"Have you been signing as much as Kasuka, Shizu-chan?" 

Ugh. 

"Actually, I forgot a lot of the letters. Kasuka has like the whole alphabet memorized, though." Shizuo said the last part a bit more happily. 

"I noticed. He signed hi and having fun at me just now. I can tell he's really excited." 

"Oh, he is." 

Lora turned her smile to the couple, "What about you guys?" 

Shinra glanced at Celty, something he seemed to do frequently, "A little. Mostly just simple things like hi or love." 

Celty turned her head in Shinra's direction as if giving him a look. 

"What," Shinra laughed, "It's true!" 

"Oh, that's so adorable! We're going to start learning everyday phrases soon, so you can learn how to express love in a whole bunch of ways." 

"I'm looking forward to it. Subete no watashi no ai." 

Shizuo glanced at Shinra at the sudden change of combined sounds. It sounded Japanese, which made sense since Shinra was obviously Japanese, but Shizuo was more frustrated by the fact that he hadn't understood a word. It probably meant something about love since he had said it to Celty instead of Lora. Shizuo decided then that after learning sign language, he was definitely going to ask his mom to teach him Japanese. 

"I guess we can be a group." Shinra said. 

"Hm?" 

"For today's activity. Lora just told us, Shizu-chan." Shinra said with faked innocence. 

"Oh, I didn't hear her." 

"We could tell. You were staring at Shinra's shirt for like three minutes." Celty's phone piped up. 

Shizuo felt his face burn slightly. He covered it by looking around the room. Surely enough the class had split into even smaller groups, the rest of Shizuo's family together with one other person. Shizuo hoped Kasuka wouldn't mind. 

"So what are we supposed to do?" 

"We could sit down first, since everyone else is." Shinra suggested. 

They did so then Celty and Shinra explained what the activity was. It started with them all signing their own name. Next they had to sign the person to their left's name, and so on. It was simple and exactly what Shizuo needed in order to learn more letters from the alphabet. 

 

Celty was in the middle of signing "Shizu-chan" when someone suddenly dropped into their small triangle, landing unnecessarily close to Shizuo. For a moment he thought it was his mom, but their hair was jet black instead of brown. 

"Oh, hey Izaya." Shinra greeted cheerfully. 

Izaya didn't bother to acknowledge him, instead staring at Shizuo and smirking. 

"What?" Shizuo growled. 

He did not receive a response either. Instead Izaya yanked his whiteboard forward from behind him, smacking Shizuo in the process. 

"Ow! Geez!" Shizuo pressed a hand to his throbbing side, and glared at Izaya, who was scribbling carelessly on the whiteboard. 

Celty watched Shizuo for a beat or two before typing a response to Izaya. Something about being born in Ireland. 

"Are you okay, Shizu-chan?" Shinra mumbled, pretending not to be amused. 

Shizuo angrily jerked his head at Izaya, before glaring back at Shinra. 

"Uh, Izaya? You hit Shizu-chan with your whiteboard." Shinra tried. 

Izaya stared at him, glanced at Shizuo then shrugged. 

Wrong answer. 

Shizuo wasn't thinking when his fist shot out, aimed straight at Izaya's stupid, unsuspecting- 

suddenly Izaya was gone. 

The blonde hadn't even blinked before Izaya appeared on the other side of him, still grinning, and looking ready to smack Shizuo with the whiteboard again. 

Shizuo kicked himself back a foot, then brought both fists up to defend himself. 

"Hey, what's going on over here!" Lora's voice was laced with the faintest bit of panic, as she quickly approached their group. 

She stopped then looked from Shizuo to Izaya. 

"He hit me with a whiteboard." Shizuo couldn't help but hiss. 

Izaya made no move to deny it. 

Lora's expression was strange. She looked relieved and disappointed at the same time, "Izaya, why don't you help me organize the papers on my desk." 

Izaya rolled his eyes, but got up and went to the desk anyway. 

"Okay. I'm sorry, but, what is his problem?" Shizuo demanded. 

Lora's expression softened into an eventual smile, "No, I'm sorry. Izaya... just likes to play a little rough. I'll tell him to be nice." 

 

Shizuo calmed slightly at Lora's words then watched as she turned and went to talk to another group. 

 

"So what was that, Shizuo?" Mr. Heiwajima asked once they were driving home. 

Shizuo looked away from the window and raised an eyebrow, "What was what?" 

"It looked like you were getting a little angry over there." Mrs. Heiwajima supplied helpfully. 

"Oh. No. It was nothing." 

There was a lingering silence, then Kasuka reached over and sign-spelled, "make friends". Shizuo only nodded.


	3. Leis Na Scannáin

"How old are you?" Shinra asked Kasuka a few Wednesdays later. 

Kasuka held up eight fingers then signed, "And you?" 

"I'm twenty." Shinra responded, signing "twenty" as he said it. 

"Wow, I thought you were my age." Shizuo mumbled. 

"And how old are you, Shizu-chan?" 

"Seventeen." 

"I think you're one of the youngest ones in here." Lora said, slowing to a stop. 

The boys looked around the room, and surely enough most of the other people looked to be in their twenties or thirties. 

"How old is Izaya?" Shinra had to ask. 

"Izaya is..." Lora paused then grimaced, "Oh geez, I forgot." 

"He looks thirteen." Shizuo mumbled under his breath. 

Lora scanned the room, before spotting Izaya sharing something on his whiteboard with Celty, "Izaya!" She called. 

He turned and stared for a second before approaching her. It took every bit of Shizuo's strength to not punch him the face. 

Despite Lora's assurance to speak with her nephew, Izaya had not behaved any better. He still made fun of Shizuo's name and the fact that he couldn't remember signs to save his life. They had almost gotten into a fist fight two weeks ago after Izaya had had the nerve to draw a heart on Shizuo's face with his stupid expo marker. 

It had taken three people to hold Shizuo back. 

"How old are you, Izaya?" 

The boy looked at her skeptically, not answering. 

Lora smiled, "Sorry, I forgot! Are you seventeen?" 

Izaya nodded in exaggeration, giving the action a lace of sarcasm. 

"Oh, then you and Shizu-chan are the same age!" Shinra cheered, clapping his hands. 

Shizuo glared at Kasuka's shoes, refusing to look Izaya in the eyes. He could see Kasuka forming Y's with his hands, palms down. He then moved them in a counterclockwise motion. Shizuo didn't remember what that meant. 

He raised his hands waist-high, keeping his fingers extended with his palms pointed up. He shook his hands a little to ask, "What?" 

Kasuka patiently signed, "Common." 

"Common?" Shizuo repeated outloud. He risked a glance at Izaya and saw that the boy was staring at him again, which was another thing that ticked Shizuo off. He hated when people stared. 

"-Celty, is twenty-one actually." Shinra told Lora, signing "Celty" and "twenty-one". 

Izaya scribbled something on his whiteboard then shoved it in Shinra's face. If it had been Shizuo, he would've been furious, but Shinra only backed up enough to read it then laughed good-naturedly. 

 

"All of you have been getting really good at sign language." Lora said, proudly, "And to think, it's only been a month." 

"I'm practically fluent!" Someone yelled from across the room. Her name was Vanja or something similar. Shizuo didn't really talk to her. He had accidentally formed a cliché with Shinra and Celty. 

"I noticed!" Lora chirped back, beginning to walk over there so they wouldn't have to scream across the room. 

"Kasuka is fluent too." Celty's phone suddenly said, causing Shizuo to jolt. He hadn't seen her approach. 

"He is really good." Shinra agreed with a smile. 

"It'd be cool to have friends who also know sign language." Celty. 

Shizuo scoffed playfully, momentarily distracted from Izaya, "You've got us." 

"True. But we only see each other on Wednesdays." 

"Hey! What if we hung out outside of class?" Shinra suddenly exclaimed. 

There was a collective pause before Shizuo joked, "You'd want to hang out with a high schooler and an eight year old?" 

"Oh Shizu-chan, age is nothing but a number." Shinra replied dramatically. 

Celty's shoulders shook with laughter then she typed, "We wouldn't mind. We could all just go see a movie or something." 

"And sign the whole time!" Shinra said, with growing excitement. 

It did sound like fun. Shizuo had a handful of friends in school, but they didn't usually hang out on the weekends or anything, and Kasuka's best friend had sporting events to attend most Saturdays. They were free most of the time. 

"That sounds like fun actually." Shizuo finally said, "Here, I'll give you my number." 

Celty and Shinra exchanged glances, trying to decide who's phone to put his number in, then Shinra announced, "You can put it in my phone." And handed his Samsung over. 

Shizuo put in his cell number and wrote his contact name as Shizuo. 

"It's a date then." Celty's phone voiced, unable to express the happiness she felt. 

Shizuo could've sworn he saw Kasuka smiling. 

 

"This is such a great idea." Mrs. Heiwajima squealed as she grabbed the keys off the counter. 

Shizuo was standing by the refrigerator, reading the text that Celty had just sent him. They had planned to meet at the mall, since there was an array of things to do there. 

Kasuka was sitting at the table, finishing tying his shoe. 

"Just remember to be careful, be home before nine, and Shizuo keep an eye on your little brother." Mrs. Heiwajima went on. 

"I know, Mom." Shizuo chuckled. 

Finally she handed him the keys and kissed Kasuka on the forehead, "See you later." 

"Bye, Mom." 

Shizuo didn't have to look, to see Kasuka also signing "bye". 

 

The drive there was smooth. No accidents or anything. When they arrived, Shinra and Celty still weren't there yet, but Celty had informed Shizuo that they were on their way. 

To pass the time, Shizuo took Kasuka to GameStop, where they played Mortal Combat. Shizuo was in the process of losing badly when his phone vibrated again. 

Celty, "Where are you?" 

Shizuo typed out GameStop, before looking back at Kasuka. He signed, "Cheater" which made Kasuka smile a little. 

It took two more crushing rounds of defeat for Celty and Shinra to finally find them. Shizuo was relieved. He was about to ask where they wanted to go, but a robotic tone cut him off, 

"I love Mortal Combat. Can I play?" 

Shizuo raised his eyebrows, "If you want. Look out, Kasuka is the king of games." 

Kasuka signed "That's right." 

Celty slipped her phone into the pocket of her letterman jacket (Shizuo noticed that it had Wonder Woman on it) then signed, "I can take you." 

"Well, if Kaska's the king then Celty is the Overlord, because she's great at video games." Shinra laughed. 

"We're probably gonna be here awhile then." 

"Actually, we could get some drinks or something. The food court isn't far." Shinra suggested, then took out his phone to read a message. 

"I'm not thirsty." Shizuo shrugged, "And those two are obviously busy." 

Celty took a risk to wave at them over her shoulder, which translated to "we'll be fine, go on". 

"Text me if you need anything, mo chuisle." Shinra cooed, though he was a bit distracted by his phone. He began walking out the exit, and Shizuo followed. 

"Was that Japanese?" 

"Uhhh no," Shinra finally sent the message, "That was Irish for 'my pulse'." 

Shizuo pursed his lips. 

"It's a very romantic saying, actually.It's akin to the English phrase of 'my love'." He signed this subconsciously. 

"Oh... okay." Shizuo let a second tick by as they continued walking, "But you do know Japanese, right?" 

"I do," Shinra smiled, "Do you speak Japanese, Shizuo?" 

"No... my mom does though, and I used to know some when I was a kid, but I don't know. I forgot it." 

"As is fate," Shinra laughed, "My parents spoke Japanese around the house and some of my friends did too, so that kept the language alive." 

"Lucky. It'd be cool to be bilingual." 

"Trilingual. Celty taught me Irish as well, though we aren't very good at it." 

Shizuo suddenly felt a stab of jealously. Shinra could speak three languages and he was learning sign language? Was there even a name for people like that? Polylingual? Geniuses? 

Shinra suddenly jolted to a stop, and Shizuo almost tripped over him. It was only then did he notice how much taller he was than Shinra. 

"There's Izaya" 

Shizuo swore his heart stopped. He followed Shinra's gaze to a tall, skinny figure striding toward them. He was wearing all black, except for the yellowish trim of his coat, which was ridiculous since it wouldn't be cold for another month. 

Izaya grinned when they locked eyes. 

"Did you invite him?" Shizuo hissed while Izaya was out of range. 

"I did." Shinra said, sounding unregretful. 

"Why?" 

"Well... he was standing there when we were talking about hanging out. I thought it'd be kind of rude not to invite him." 

Shizuo clenched his fists, "But I hate him." 

It was the first time Shizuo had admitted it out loud and the words felt bitter on his tongue. Izaya was too close for them to whisper now. 

Shinra signed "Hey, I-Z-Y." 

Izaya waved energetically then signed, "Where's your girlfriend?" 

"G-A-M-E-S-T-O-P. With K-A-S-U-K-A." They still hadn't decided on a sign for Kasuka. 

Shizuo watched the exchange, feeling like an outsider once more. All he understood was hey, where and Kasuka. 

Shinra turned to him, "Shizuo and I were about to go to the food court actually." 

"No, we weren't!" Shizuo between his teeth. 

Either Shinra didn't hear him or chose to ignore him, "Are you hungry?" 

Izaya shook his head then began to sign something else. 

"Well why don’t you two go together." Shizuo cut him off. Seeing Izaya's smile falter was horribly satisfying, "I'm gonna see what movies are playing." 

"Ah good idea, Shizu-chan." 

Shizuo turned on his heal and stormed away. 

 

There were actually a lot of good movies playing. Shizuo had sent out a a text and now everyone was gathered in front of the ticket booth. They had been arguing over which one to see for almost ten minutes. 

Finally Celty held up a hand and pressed the 'speak' button on her phone, "If you can sign the title we'll see it. And by sign, I don't mean spell-sign." 

That put Shizuo out of the competition. 

Shinra stared at the poster, then dropped his hands to his sides. 

Celty looked at Izaya and Kasuka then signed her title. The next moment was strange, Kasuka and Izaya matched grins then signed the same title in perfect unison. Celty paused, seeming to blink then pulled up her phone, "Two to one. Guess we know which movie we're seeing." 

Shizuo watched his brother high-five that... that... ugh, and all he could think about was yanking Kasuka back and throwing Izaya far away from his innocent little brother. 

But Kasuka looked so happy. He couldn't just take that away. 

So Shizuo said nothing as Kasuka walked beside Izaya, into the theater. He said nothing when Kasuka chose to sit next to Izaya instead of his brother. He didn't even say anything on their way home.


	4. Shukugakai

"Did you two have fun?" Mrs. Heiwajima's voice barely permeated Shizuo's psyche as he slipped his shoes off and headed for the stairs. 

He couldn't see what Kasuka's response was and found that he didn't really care. 

Shizuo landed on his bed heavily, bouncing once as he pulled out his phone. He tapped on the group message with Celty and Shinra and typed, "I don't think I'm coming next Wednesday." 

Time passed. Enough time for Shizuo to open a calming app that his councilor had recommended. He watched the shimmering colors and tried not to think about that stupid kid and his stupid face, and the fact that no one else had ever managed to make him this furious. 

The phone buzzed twice. 

Shinra "Why?" 

Celty "Why?" 

Shizuo wondered if they were in the same place at the moment. 

"...I can't deal with him." 

Celty "Izaya?" 

Shinra "Who?" 

They probably weren't together. 

"Yes." 

Celty "Hey. Just ignore him if he bothers you that much. Or tell Lora. Class wouldn't be the same without you." 

A second later Shinra "Lol" 

Shizuo ran a hand through his hair, thinking of a response while Celty reprimanded Shinra. 

"I don't want to be like a tattle tale." He finally decided. 

Shinra "Tattle tailing is just the process of creating an environment you feel comfortable in. It's better than punching him in the face." 

Shizuo smiled a little, "Is it really?" 

Celty "Yes!" 

Celty "I think Lora would be kinda upset if you injured her nephew." 

Shinra "True. Lora's sweet." 

Shinra "Of course not as sweet as Celty!" 

Celty "Do it for Lora, Shizuo." 

Celty "Shut up Shinra." 

Shizuo's smile grew and this time he chuckled. The last of his anger evaporated as he read the ensuing conversation. 

A knock on his bedroom door drew his eyes away from the screen, "Come in." 

Mrs. Heiwajima entered. She walked to Shizuo's bed without closing the door behind her. Shizuo sat up so there was enough room for both of them. 

"Who're you texting?" 

"Celty and Shinra." 

"Oh, from class?" 

Shizuo nodded, glancing back down at the buzzing screen. 

"So what movie did you see?" 

"Uh, Flying High." 

Mrs. Heiwajima settled her hands in her lap, "Was it good?" 

"It was kinda a kid's movie, but yeah, it was actually pretty good." 

"Something worth renting?" 

Shizuo shrugged, "If you like singing elephants, yeah." 

Mrs. Heiwajima giggled then said in a softer voice, "Kasuka said you seemed mad on the way back." 

Shizuo shrugged again. 

"You know if something's bothering you, you can tell me, right?" 

"I know, Mom." 

Mrs. Heiwajima watched him for a few more seconds before drawing him into a hug, "Well I'm glad you two got out of the house today. Good night, Shizu-chan." 

Shizuo smiled a little, squeezing gently, "Good night, Mom." 

 

The next Wednesday, Kasuka was practically glued to Izaya's side the entire time. 

Celty said it was adorable while Shizuo thought it was weird. The one good thing was that with Izaya distracted by Kasuka, he didn't even glance at Shizuo. 

"Halloween!" Shinra chirped as he signed it. It was pretty easy, just moving both hands, palms inward and fingers pointed up, from the ears together until they met in front of the nose. 

Shizuo felt like he was playing Peek-a-Boo as he signed along with the rest of the class. After learning Halloween, Lora taught them candy, ghost, costume, pumpkin and monster. 

"What's the sign for trick-or-treat?" Someone asked. 

Lora smiled, "Actually, there isn't a set sign for trick-or-treat. Some people sign 'candy' or 'give-to-me'." 

"We should make up a sign!" 

"By all means" Lora giggled. 

So the last ten minutes of class was spent combining signs and just goofing around. Shizuo watched Kasuka and Izaya sign 'give me' at each other while they laughed. 

"Shizuo, do you still trick-or-treat?" Celty asked. 

Shizuo smiled then glanced at her, "I take Kasuka around our neighborhood. I've gotten a little too tall to be going by myself." 

Celty silently laughed at the image of Shizuo lunkering around in a dragon suit about three sizes too small and glaring at the other kids. 

"What about you? Do you and Shinra go as Batman and Robin?" 

"Actually" Celty paused to adjust her helmet, "We've gone as Batman and Wonderwoman." 

Now that was an interesting image. Shizuo laughed at the thought of Shinra attempted to don Wonderwoman's costume. 

"What are you guys laughing about?" Shinra asked, leaning into the conversation. 

All Celty has to say is "Last Halloween." 

"Oh, the fact that I was Wonderwoman? It was an honor to dress as someone I look up to. I regret nothing." Shinra replied nonchalantly. 

"Girl power." Celty added. 

Shizuo watched them bro-fist before remembering something, "I know Halloween's still a couple of weeks away, but I think my parents are gonna have a Halloween party. Do you guys wanna come?" 

"Can we dress up?" Was the first thing Celty asked. 

"Uh, if you want to." 

"We'll be there!" 

Shinra chuckled at his girlfriend's enthusiasm. Celty had always jumped at every opportunity to dress up. Even on Spirit Week in high school, despite having minimal school spirit. 

"But if there's not a party, we can all go trick-or-treating." Shinra said lightly. 

Shizuo nodded, "Sounds good."


	5. Ma Puce

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why was this stupid kid trying to cram himself into Shizuo's life?

The front door slammed a little harder than Shizuo had meant to, when he closed it. Usually he wouldn't have been too concerned about this, but he had seen his dad's truck out front, which meant other people would hear the slam. 

"Shizuo is that you?" Mr. Heiwajima called. 

"Uh, yeah" Shizuo slipped his shoes off then headed to the kitchen, "What are you doing hom-" 

He stopped dead in his tracks. 

His father wasn't in the kitchen, but Kasuka was. And a person Shizuo was not at all prepared to see in his home. 

The boy smiled. 

Izaya. 

"What the hell are you doing here!" Shizuo roared, dropping his book bag with a loud thud. 

Mr. Heiwajima swung into view from the living room, "Shizuo! Language." 

"Dad- What-" Shizuo gestured wordlessly to Izaya, who's smile grew. 

"Use your words, son." 

Shizuo's voice came out small, "What is he doing here?" 

Mr. Heiwajima glanced at Izaya as if searching for an affirmation, "Izaya is tutoring Kasuka in social studies." 

To that the blond had no response. 

"Your mom and I got to talking to Lora a week or two ago and it seemed like a good idea. Kasuka and Izaya liked the sound of it too." 

Shizuo looked at Kasuka, who looked down at his social studies book. He had never felt so betrayed. Their dad went on as if he hadn't noticed, 

"Izaya will be coming over on Mondays and Thursdays." 

The glare from Izaya's whiteboard caught Shizuo's eyes. Why did he carry that stupid thing around with him anyway? He probably used it to beat up little kids or puppies or something. 

Shizuo snatched up his book bag and practically ran out of the room. 

 

That was two extra days he would have to see that little freak and his freak smile. In his own home too! 

Shizuo paced his room, angrily, digging his nails into his palms and attempting to reason his way out of his anger. 

Izaya was going to be at his house sometimes, but it was for Kasuka's benefit. They probably thought it was a good idea, because hiring a tutor that knew Sign Language was probably more expensive. Yeah, that made sense... 

"But why him!" Shizuo accidentally growled out loud. 

Why was this stupid kid trying to cram himself into Shizuo's life? 

There was a quiet knock on the door. Shizuo turned his head at break neck speed, anger disappearing for a second. He caught a glimpse at the clock, which read five twenty-nine. Had he really been pacing for an hour? 

"Come in." 

Shizuo watched as Izaya's head leaned into his room, expression blank. He opened his mouth as if about to say something, but Shizuo was faster. He seized the nearest object, the small box where he kept his writing, and hurled it. 

The door slammed before the box made contact, and Shizuo could've sworn he heard laughter. 

 

Shinra "I think you're overreacting Shizuo." 

"I'm not!" Shizuo texted back angrily. 

It had been exactly eight minutes since he had watched Izaya get in a car and finally leave his house, for the second time that week. Shizuo had taken to locking his bedroom door and remaining there until six o'clock, when Izaya would leave. 

Celty "Sounds like he's become friends with Kasuka actually." 

"He has! It's horrible! Kasuka is starting to talk to him more than me!" 

Celty "Maybe because Izaya knows more sign language than you?" 

Shizuo growled audibly then typed, "I hate him! He's such a..." He thought for a moment but could not think of a good enough insult, so sent three dots. 

Shinra "Ma puce?" 

"...What?" 

Shinra "It's French for flea." 

Celty "…" 

Shizuo hesitated, "Then, yeah. He's a flea."


	6. Truce?

"Shizu-chan, have you told Shinra and Celty about the Halloween party?" Mrs. Heiwajima asked, joining the usual circle. 

"Oh yeah, he told us in the first week of October." Shinra supplied with a kind smile. 

"Oh okay, well I hope you two will be able to make it. The more the merrier!" 

Shizuo jumped a little when his phone buzzed. He pulled it out then blinked and looked at Celty. Celty either didn't notice or ignored him. 

Shizuo clicked on the message. 

"Ur mom is adorable omg" 

He looked at her again, his expression threatening to break into a smile. 

"Ah, Shizu-chan?" 

"Yeah, mom?" 

Mrs. Heiwajima suddenly looked a little more serious, "Would you mind asking Lora if she and Izaya would like to come?" 

Shizuo froze, "...Do I have to?" 

"Yes. Izaya's been nice enough to tutor Kasuka and Lora is practically my BFF." 

"Mom..." 

Mrs. Heiwajima broke out in a smile, "What? I can't say BFF?" 

"Ugh, I'll go." Shizuo groaned, ignoring Shinra's snickering. 

Lora and Izaya were talking over by the desk, although it looked as if Lora was doing most of the talking. Shizuo approached quietly, waiting for Lora to notice him. 

"Hey Shizuo. Need something?" 

"Yeah... my parents are having a Halloween party and... wanna come?" He could've said it better, but he was mostly hoping Izaya wouldn't hear him. 

"A Halloween party?" Lora repeated. She didn’t sound all that excited, "I would love to, but I have a wedding to go to." 

Shizuo felt both disappointed and relieved. He opened his mouth, then Lora turned to Izaya, 

"Hey Izy, you doing anything on Halloween?" 

The blond's eyes widened and he felt his heart sink as Izaya shook his head. 

 

Celty was like a kid in a candy store, as they browsed the Halloween store. She bounced excitedly from costume to costume, with muffled squeals at the make-up and decorations. 

"I think Shizuo would make a great He-Man." Shinra laughed, pulling at a He-Man costume. 

"No." Shizuo deadpanned, "Nothing that doesn't come with a shirt or pants." 

Celty turned and put back whatever costume she had picked up. She signed, "We should be a group of something." 

"...Like condiments?" Shizuo asked. 

"I was thinking more along the lines of superheroes." Celty signed slowly. 

Shizuo glanced at a creepy mask, then side-stepped away from it, "Aren't you superheroes every year?" 

Celty tilted her head, "When I was little, I was always Disney characters." 

"Well now Marvel characters are Disney characters." Shinra pointed out, picking up a pitchfork. 

Shizuo hummed then walked towards the back of the store, where the adult-sized costumes were hanging. He glanced around for something that would spark his interest. 

"What is Kasuka going to be?" 

Shizuo had to think for a moment, "Edward Scissorhands." 

Celty bounced in place then signed, "That's so cool!" 

"Are they going to be actual scissors?" 

Shizuo rolled his eyes, then signed, "No." 

He moved aside a Shrek costume and stopped to stare at the costume underneath. A red and black stretchy suit with a black eye mask. No cape. 

"Hey guys," Shizuo found himself smiling wide, "What about this?" 

 

The house looked great. Shizuo stood on the front lawn with his dad and Kasuka, staring at the threads of fake spider webs, the scattered pumpkins and the tombstones spotting the grass. 

It was truly beautiful. 

"Come on, Kasuka! Let's get dressed!" Shizuo laughed, making Kasuka smile. His excitement was infectious. 

They raced into the house, past more webs, fake spiders and the scary movies playing on the TV. Shizuo couldn't remember the last time he had been this excited about Halloween. The past five years, he had just donned a Halloween t-shirt and followed Kasuka around the neighborhood, until it was time to go home and overdose on candy. 

This year he actually had something to look forward to. 

 

Shinra and Celty arrived at seven-thirty when it was just beginning to get dark. The three of them were practically screaming with excitement at each other's costumes, even though they had bought them together. 

"Aw you all match! Hold on, let me take a picture." Mrs. Heiwajima giggled, going to grab her phone. She was dressed as a witch, but currently didn't have her broom. 

They posed for a few pictures, before more guests arrived. 

"Shizuo or Kasuka can one of you go turn on the CD player." Mrs. Heiwajima asked, before reaching for the doorknob. 

"I got it!" Shizuo called, parting from his friends to flip a switch. Immediately the house was filled with the song Thriller. 

Celty and Shinra were dancing along when Shizuo came back out to them. He paused for a second, grinning then timidly joining in. He didn't actually know the steps to Thriller, he just copied Celty. Shizuo pretended not to notice his mom taking more pictures. 

 

By eight-thirty the house was full of people dancing, eating or just talking. And it looked like everyone had worn a costume. 

Shizuo found himself talking to new people and smiling when people asked if they could get a picture with Mr. Incredible. He even picked someone up with one hand to make it an even better picture. 

Eventually he found himself sitting on the coffee table with Celty and Shinra on the couch in front of him. 

"Wait, wait, wait so you lifted the entire refrigerator?" Shinra repeated, staring in both amazement and amusement as Shizuo told the story. 

"Yeah! The entire thing! And Kasuka didn't even blink!" 

"Did you throw it?" Celty signed, just as captivated. 

"No, actually I broke my arms! I was only like twelve so I guess the weight caught up. Anyway I ended up in the hospital for like a week." 

Shinra blinked, "That's amazing." 

Shizuo shrugged, though he could feel his face reddening in embarrassment. Usually people were terrified when they found out about his strength, but Shinra and Celty were... amazed. 

"Hey, I'm gonna go get some more of those..." Celty's hands faltered, "P-I-G-S B-L-A-N-K-E-T?" 

The boys understood anyway. Shizuo nodded as she stood and left. 

"Actually I'm gonna go to the bathroom. Be right back." Shizuo said to Shinra, since Celty had already left. 

"Ah yes, leave me here by myself." He heard Shinra sigh dramatically. Shizuo only rolled his eyes and ascended the stairs. 

Fortunately there was no one upstairs, so Shizuo could walk without having to squeeze in on himself. But before he could reach the bathroom, he noticed a shadow moving under his bedroom door. Shizuo stopped and stared blankly before quietly turning the doorknob. 

There was someone sitting on the floor beside his bed. Shizuo flicked on the light. 

And of course. 

"What are you doing in my room, Flea?" Shizuo didn't mean to use the nickname, but it rolled off his tongue perfectly. 

Izaya looked up from where he had been staring at his phone. He wasn't wearing a costume, just the same fur-trim jacket that he had worn to the mall, and the same black pants. 

He smiled. Usually that would be enough to make Shizuo lose it, but he was in a good mood tonight, and he wasn't about to let Izaya ruin it. 

Shizuo took a deep breath, then entered his room and gently closed the door behind him. 

"Alright. Izaya. I don't like you." For a second Shizuo's train of thought was lost and he forgot where he was going with it. 

"But, uh, I want to. Shinra says you're cool and I want to believe that. But... you're.... why are you so mean to me?" Shizuo settled on. 

Izaya continued to stare and smile, and Shizuo wondered if that was the only thing he was capable of doing. He snapped in the boy's face, in a strange reversal of their first meeting, 

"Hello? Are you deaf? Say something!" Shizuo growled, getting increasingly irritated. 

Izaya's smile curved into a smirk. He looked like he knew something that Shizuo didn't. The blond huffed, 

"Fine, be a little silent freak, just get out of my room." 

To Shizuo's surprise, Izaya shifted then stood gracefully and practically levitated out of the room. Well that was easy.


End file.
